MARCO ISLAND, Fla., Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mary Holler, age 80, of Marco Island, Florida is smiling again. Mary was suffering from dementia. She felt her ability to function on a daily basis was slipping away. Now, after undergoing a successful stem cell treatment in early December 2012, Mary is more like her old self again. She no longer suffers the frustration and agitation of being told she had already asked that question several times. Peter Holler, age 82, had become very concerned that his wife of 60 years was slowly losing her memory. She had been on medications for memory loss for several years but the deterioration in her recall accelerated in the last six months. It was not unusual for him to answer the same question 4 to 5 times over the course of a day. He felt he was losing his wife right in front of his eyes. Mary's poor performance on an in-depth memory test revealed that she should be in an assisted living facility. This frightened both the Hollers and their children.

Peter Holler sought out stem cell therapy. He felt it was his wife's only option. Peter, no stranger to stem cells, had undergone a stem cell treatment for his failing heart in 2008. He had experienced great success. "Even my lung function improved dramatically," he recalls. So using the same group that he had trusted with his heart, he made arrangements to get the love of his life treated.

A track record of several successfully treated patients with dementia already existed. So the doctors knew exactly what to do. Heading the team is Dr. Hector Rosario, an interventional cardiologist and head of the stem cell program in the Dominican Republic. Dr. Zannos Grekos, Chief Science Officer for Intercellular, was present as well. "It's very exciting to be able to have such a positive impact on a disease process that otherwise has such a grim prognosis," Grekos explained.

After an activation and concentration process, stem cells collected from Mary's bone marrow were injected into her cerebral circulation. "Look at the difference," Dr. Rosario exclaimed while pointing to the before and after pictures of the brain circulation. The increase in blood vessel flow was astonishing. Since only adult stem cells from the patient are used, the political, ethical and medical issues are avoided and there is no risk of rejection.

"We're able to normalize a patient's brain function testing in 6 months after the treatment," said Grekos, commenting on the success rate of patients receiving adult stem cell therapy to reverse the effects of dementia.

Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with age and certain diseases. Some types of dementia are non-reversible (degenerative) but others have a vascular component, even Alzheimer's. These respond especially well to stem cell treatment.